Cash drawer



Jl, 3L W39. .1. .1. MURTAUGH, .JR 93459314 CASH DRAWER 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Jan. 9, 1957 40 n uw?! Vm n.

ATTORN EVS Jima. 311W w39. J, .,J, Mum/WGH, JR

CASH DRAWER Filed Jan. 9*, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ORNEYS Patented Jan.31, 1939 UNITED ISTATES PATE-NT of-Fries CASH DRAWER York ApplicationJanuary 9, 1937, Serial No. 119,732

11 Claims.

This invention relates to safes, cash drawers and similar devices forreceiving valuables and relates particularly to means for preventingunauthorized opening of acash drawer or the like.

In order to safeguard valuables effectively, it is not only necessary toprovide means which prevent unauthorized access thereto when the cashieror attendant is not present, but it is also necessary under somecircumstances to prevent laccess to the valuables even by an authorizedagent, as when the agent `or cashier is forced at the point of a gun toopen a cash drawer or safe.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided whichenable a cashier or attendant to have access to a cash drawer or similarconstruction at will under ordinary circumstances, but which areoperable when necessary to prevent opening thereof until after the lapseof a predetermined time. Preferably, the means provided for preventingopening the cash drawer or safe for a predetermined time are operablefrom a remote point so that in the event the cashier is threatened, thecash drawer may be locked against operation by someone remote from the;.cash drawer and without movement of the cashier,

or danger to those near the cash drawer.

In that form of the present invention shown in the drawings andhereafter more fully described, a cash `drawer is provided with a latchmember releasable by operation at a remote point to lock the drawer.Thereafter, the cash drawer may be unlocked but unlatching of the latchmember will not take place until after the expiration of a predeterminedinterval of time. Or-

. dinarily however, the cash drawer is capable of being locked andunlocked at will to enable authorized persons to have access theretowithout the inconvenience and delay incident to the use of a timingdevice.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means forsafeguarding cash drawers and the like which are operable to insure adelay between the operation of means for releasing the cash drawer andthe actual release thereof vwhereby valuables may be effectivelysafeguarded.

Another object of the invention is to provide locking mechanism for acash drawer orv other construction which is simple in construction andeffective in its operation and by which the cash .drawer can be lockedfrom a remote point.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cash drawer with meansfor preventing opening thereof which means is normally operable toreleasethe cash drawer so that it maybe opened by 1an unauthorized agentbut incapable of releasing the "cashdrawer under predeterminedconditionsuntil after the operation of a delay mechanism.

These and other 'objects and features of the invention will appear fromthe following descrip- 5 tionthereofin which reference yis made to theaccompanying figures 'of the drawings.

In the drawings:

vFigure l is a perspective 'of a typical form of cash drawer embodyingthe vpresent invention;

"Figure 2 -is a `vertical'sectionalview through the construction "ofFigure l-illustratingone form Vof mechanism 'embodyingthe Ypresentinvention and designed to control the operation of the cash drawer;

`ligure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view `of a 'portion of theconstruction illustrated in Figure 2 with'fcertain of the parts thereofshown in a di'iferentposition;

Figure 4 4is a :vertical sectional 'view of the construction illustratedinFigure 2 taken on the line ll-ii thereof;

Figure `5is 4a 4horizontal `sectional view of the constructionillustrated -i-n 'Figure 2 taken'on the linev 5-#5 thereof; `and 25Figure \6 `is 'a ldiagra-mmatic Aillustration of typical electrical'connections adapted for controlling `operation of the 1mechanismlillustrated in Figure 2.

-In that form Aof the invention chosen for purposes of illustration inthe drawings, a cash drawer, indicated generally at 22, `is supported ina housing All which may beof any suitable construction land may comprisepart lof a counter, safe or otherstructure,ifdesired. The housing 35shown embodies-atop ii, sides 8,a bottom Ill and a back l2. The'e'dgesand corners of the housing are reinforced by angle members M extendingalong lmarginal portions of the housing -or elsewhere `as requiredtolprovide a sturdy theft-proof construction.

The drawer 2 is supported within the housing on rollers I6 mounted onstuds I8 projecting `inwardly lfrom the'side walls 8. Roller bearings 2Bpreferably are provided between studs i8 and rollersI-l for'insuring`smooth sliding movement of the drawer so that it will Vclose kreadilyand move easily `to its fully closed position. A supporting krail 22extends alongthe upper edges lof the cash drawer and bears against the'roller `Iii to support 'the drawer, Vwhereas Vangle bars 2li projectfrom the sides ofthe cash drawer beneath the rollers H5 for'guiding thedrawer in its sliding movement. The drawer itself Vmay be .of any usualconstruction and maybe divided 'into sec- 65 tions by partitions 25 orthe like, for receiving bills, or may be otherwise arranged for thepurpose of receiving valuables.

Outward movement of the drawer is limited by a pivoted catch 26positioned to engage a stop member 28 near the front of the housing onthe bottom I6, while inward movement of the drawer is limited by aprojecting ange 30 on the drawer which engages a downwardly projectingbolt engaging flange 32 adjacent the top of the front oi the housing.The drawer is normally urged into its closed position in which theflange 30 thereon engages flange 32 on the housing by means of a spring34, one end of which is secured to a lug on partition 36 at the back ofthe cash receiving portion of the drawer and the other end of which issecured to a lug mounted on the rear wall I2 of the housing.

A lock 40 may be carried by the drawer for actuating a bolt 42 toproject thesame behind the downwardly extending bolt engaging flange 32at the top of the front of the housing. Any suitable lock constructionmay be used in this location or elsewhere for enabling the cashier oragent to lock and unlock the drawer at will so that it will be instantlyavailable for use under provided which are operable to prevent openingordinary circumstances. However, in order further to safeguard valuableswithin the cash drawer under unusual circumstances, as in the event of ahold-up, supplemental locking means are of the cash drawer and whichpreferably may be actuated from a remote point for locking the cashdrawer.

In the construction illustrated, the bottom 46 of the cash drawer isprovided with a rearwardly extending portion 48 having a latch receivingrecess 56 therein positioned to receive a pivoted latch member 52 whichis mounted on the rear wall I2 of the housing. The latch is pivoted at54 to move into and out of the recess 50 in the extension 48 andpreferably is gravity actuated or otherwise urged toward its lockingposition so that it will move into locking position as soon as it isreleased. The latch is supported or held out of its latching positionand out of engagement with the portion 48 of the cash drawer by means ofa hanger 56 which carries a roller 58 extending beneath the latch 52.The hanger 56 is secured to a member 60 surrounded by a solenoid 62which, when energized serves to raise the hanger and retract the latchmember. The

hanger also is provided with a projecting pin 64 n which normally restsagainst a bolt 66 to retain the latch in raised or releasing position.

The slidable bolt 66 constitutes the core of a solenoid 68 and is heldin its projected position to support hanger 56 as shown in Figures 4 and5 by means of a spring 10, one end of which is secured to the bolt 66and the opposite end of vwhich is secured to a bracket 'I2 mounted onthe rear wall I2 of the housing and supporting the solenoid 62.

The free end of the bolt 66 is provided with a downwardly facing vcamsurface I4 engageable by the pin 64 on the hanger so that when the pinis raised with the hanger 56 on operation of the solenoid 62 the bolt 66will be forced to the right as seen in Figure 4 to permit the pin 64 topass after which the bolt will again be projected be- :neath the pin bythe spring 'I0 to hold the latch member in its raised or releasingposition.

The solenoid 68 for retracting the bolt 66 may be energized by anysuitable source of power such as the power line 'I8 upon closing of anyone or more of the switches 88 and 82 located at suitable points whichmay be remote from the cash drawer. When energized the solenoid servesto retract the bolt 66 and permit the hanger 56 and latch 52 to fall bygravity into locking position with the head of the latch projecting intothe latch receiving opening 5U. The cash drawer will then be lockedagainst opening even though the bolt of the lock 40 is withdrawn.Furthermore, any efforts to force the drawer open will cause only aforward pull on the latch 52 secured to the rear wall I2 of the housingso that no strain will be placed upon the latch operating mechanism orthe solenoids which actuate the same and these parts will not be damagedby tampering with the drawer.

In order to retract the latch 52 from engagement with the portion 48 ofthe cash drawer a lock 84 of any suitable construction is provided inthe front of the housing and projecting through the downwardly extendingflange 32 as illustrated in Figure 2. The cylinder of the lock 84 isprovided with a pin 86 which normally extends nto position to be engagedby an arm 8B controlling movement of clockwork mechanism 96. Uponoperation of the lock 84 the pin 86 is retracted or moved out ofengagement with the arm 8S whereupon the arm is rotated in the directionof the arrow in Figure 5 by the clock mechanism for closing a switch 92.As illustrated, the arm 88 in rotating rst engages the insulating member94 and thereafter moves this member into engagement with a movableelement of the switch 92 to complete a circuit through the solenoid 62.When the solenoid 62 is energized the hanger 56 and latch52 are raised,releasing the drawer. In being raised the pin 64 on hanger 56 forces thebolt 66 to the right against the action of spring 'ID and then onpassing above the bolt permits it to be projected beneath the pin toagain hold the hanger and latch member 52 in their raised positions.Thus the solenoid 62 need only be energized momentarily as the arm 88and insulating member 94 pass the switch contacts 82 and thereafter theclockwork continues to operate until the arm 88 again engages the pin 86of lock 84 to reset itself automatically. Neither solenoid need beoperated continuously or for long periods'of time and momentary failureof the electric power supply will not actuate the mechanism.

The cash drawer may be operated after its release in the usual mannerand may be locked at will by means of the lock 40 so that the delaymechanism need only be operated in emergency or at the opening of thedays business.

In the operation of the form of the invention illustrated and describedabove the cash drawer l may be locked and unlocked normally by means ofa suitable key or otherwise inserted in the lock 40 so that the cashieror other authorized persons may open the same and so that it will beclosed by operation of the spring 34 when released. In the event of anemergency any person at a remote point and in any desired location mayoperate one of the switches or 82 to complete the circuit through thesolenoid 68 to retract the bolt 66 from beneath the pin 64 permittingthe hanger 56 to fall so that the latch member 52 will swing downwardabout its pivot 54 and enter the opening 56 in the extension 48 at therear of the cash drawer. In this way the drawer and may be threatened byabandit" need make no move to insure lockingof .the,drawer..

`Furthermorein the event the cashier or others are forced to unlock thecash drawenit will not be released for operation until after theexpiration of a predetermined time, say teen minutes, during whichpolice or other assistance may arrive.

Ii the cashier is `forced to manipulate the lock Bft so as to move pin86 o-ut of engagement with the arm S8 of the clock mechanism, the clockmechanism will prevent immediate operation of the solenoid d2 andrelease of the latch 52 will therefore be delayed until the Vclockmechanism has -rnoved the actuating arm 83 from its normal position asshown in Figure 5 into engagement with the switch operating member 94 toclose the switch 92 and energize solenoid 62. This period of time may bevaried at will to provide the desired delay and prevent access to thedrawer until after danger of unauthorized use of the cash drawer haspassed. Thus valuables contained in the drawer are protected moreeiectively than has been possible heretofore and the cashier andattendants need not endanger themselves to protect the contents of thedrawer.

While the construction herein illustrated and described is designedparticularly for use in connection with cash drawers and similarconstructions, it will be apparent that the invention may be embodied inother types of apparatus or mechanism and that various forms of latchoperating means may be employed without departing from the invention. Itwill also be apparent that the switches 80 and B2 may be used to actuatethe latch controlling solenoids associated with any number of cashdrawers so that all of the cash drawers in a bank or other institutionmay be locked simultaneously by an operator at a remote point andwithout manipulation by a cashier or others who would be in danger ofinjury should they attempt to make such a move. It should therefore beunderstood that the form of the invention herein illustrated anddescribed is intended to be representative of a typical embodiment ofthe invention and is not intended to limit the scope thereof,

I claim:

l. In combination with a cash drawer, a lock, latch means movable intoand out of position to lock said drawer against movement, meansindependent of said lock controlling movement of said latch means intolocking position, delay mechanism under control of said lock and meansactuated by said delay mechanism for moving said latch means out oflocking position to permit opening of said drawer.

2. In combination with a cash drawer having a housing, a lock carried bysaid housing, a support for said drawer and latch means carried by saidsupport movableginto engagement with said l drawer to prevent openingthereof, means independent of said lock for moving said latch intolocking position, time controlled means under control of said lock andmeans actuated by said time controlled means for moving said latch outof engagement with said drawer.

3. In combination with a cash drawer movable on a support, a lock, alatch carrie-d by said support and movable into engagement with saiddra-wer to prevent opening thereof, electro-responsive means forretracting said latch to release said drawer and delay mechanism undercontrol of said lock for controlling the operation of saidelectro-responsive means.

4. Thefcombination with a housing and a cash drawer Vslidable withinsaid housing of a latch. member supported on the housing and movableinto Vand outV of latching engagement with saiddrawer to lock saiddrawer in closed position, .saidlatch member when in latching positionextending in the direction of movement of said drawerwhereby forceapplied to move said drawer when held by said latch is transmittedtosaid housing without injury to said latch and electro-responsivemeansfor actuating said latch member.

'5, The combination with a housing and a cash drawer slidable withinsaid housing of a latch member supported on the housing and movable,into andlout of latching engagement with said. drawer to lock saidVdrawer in closed position, means located at a point remote from saidhousing controlling movement of said latch to ydrawer locking position,time controlled means for withdrawing said latch from drawer lockingposition and means located on said housing and operable independently ofsaid latch controlling means for releasing said time controlled means.

6. The combination with a housing and a cash drawer slidable therein ofmeans for locking said drawer in closed position comprising a latch,electrically operated means for tripping said latch so that it may moveinto locking position,

control means for said electrically operated means located at a pointremote from said housing, time controlled means for withdrawing saidlatch from locking position and means for initiating operation of saidtime controlled means located on said housing and operable independentlyof the control means for said electrically operated means serving toreset said time controlled means.

'7. The combination with a housing and a drawer slidable therein ofmeans for locking said drawer against sliding movement, comprising alatch member, means for holding said latch member in unlocking position,a spring urging said holding means into holding position, a solenoidoperable to retract said holding means to permit movement of said latchmember to locking position, a solenoid operable to withdraw said latchmember from locking position, independently operable means forenergizing said solenoids and means movable with said latch andengageable by said holding means to hold said latch in unlockingposition.

8. The combination with a housing and a drawer slidable therein of meansfor locking said drawer against sliding movement comprising a latchmember, means for holding said latch member in unlocking position, aspring urging said holding means into holding position, a solenoidoperable to retract said holding means to permit movement of said latchmember to locking position, a solenoid operable to withdraw said latchmember from locking position, time controlled means for` energizing thelatter solenoid, lock operated means for actuating said time controlledmeans and means movable with said latch and engageable by said holdingmeans to hold said latch in unlocking position.

9. The combination with a housing and a drawer slidable therein of meansfor locking said drawer against sliding movement comprising a latchmember, means for holding said latch member in unlocking position, aspring urging said holding means into holding position, a solenoidoperable to retract said holding means to permit movement of said latchmember to locking position, operating means for energizing saidsolenoid, a solenoid operable to Withdraw said latch member from lockingposition, actuating means independently of said operating means and timecontrolled means set in operation by said actuating means for energizingthe latter solenoid to withdraw said latch member from locking positiona predetermined time after operation of said actuating means and meansmovable with said latch and engageable by said holding means to holdsaid latch in unlocking position.

10. In a locking system for a plurality of devices, each of said devicesbeing provided with a latch movable into and out of positionto lock andunlock same, and means common to said plurality of devices forcontrolling the movement of the latches thereof into locking position;the

locking system being characterized by the fact that each device isprovided with individual means independent of said common control meansfor moving the latch thereof out of locking position, and individualtime delay means operable to control the operation of each of saidindependent means.

11. In combination with a cash drawer, latch means movable into and outof position to lock and unlock said drawer, means for controlling themovement of said latch means into locking position, means independent ofsaid controlling means for moving said latch means out of lockingposition, and means including a time delay mechanism controllingoperation of said independent means.

JOHN J. MURTAUGH, JR.

